The emergence of the duchy of Milan: language and the territorial state

Abstract

The development of the duchy of Milan into a territorial state has long been a focus of interest. This paper, rather than examining of aspects of government, traces the duchy’s growing sense of identity through the terminology that was used to describe the duke’s lands. The original duchy, established by imperial diploma in 1395, had robust powers of endurance, based as it was on the long-established Milanese contado. What we now know as the duchy of Milan was created for Giangaleazzo in 1396 out of the numerous other lands and cities ruled by the Visconti. But it took many decades for this collection of separate centres to acquire a territorial identity. Contemporary writers as well as the dukes themselves were reluctant to refer to the area as a duchy. In reality it was not until the 1490s, with the aspirations of Ludovico il Moro and the French occcupation, that area began to be called a duchy. The vicissitudes of following decades, leading to frequent changes of regime, served to weld the duke’s possessions into a recognized territorial unit.